Transcript: Greg Norman At The 2010 Australian Open

Tusday, November 30, 2010

You have been busy?

I've been to Adelaide. We're building a golf course there. We have basically finished nine holes and we will probably start the other nine holes at the end of next year. We will look for an opening around 2012-13. Then we went and did a presentation at the Grange Golf Club. The club is looking to redo the East Course. We've put a proposal to them. We sat down and talked to about 520 of the members. They quite liked our proposal. We'll see where that goes. That is a members' vote...The West has been done and they want to redo the East. Yesterday was Presidents Cup. It went very, very well at Royal Melbourne. There is a lot of enthusiasm for it in the 349 days leading up to it. Now here we are at the Australian Open at The Lakes.

Are you going to have a look around?

No, I am not going to play today. I'll play tomorrow. I played here a couple of months ago. I came in and did a Qantas outing. I've seen the course. I know what it is like. The layout is still the same. Visually it is a different looking course. The putting surfaces are different. One round will be enough tomorrow.

So you don't want to go out in the weather?

Stoney, I've been there and done all that. I was going to play nine holes at New South Wales this morning with some people from Diageo and that got rained out. I spent a couple of hours with them back at the hotel.

What did you think of the changes to the course? There has been talk about the severe slope on the 14th green.

I think the correct word there is severe. I remember The Lakes of old. I have really fond memories of The Lakes of old. I am a little biased because I like the way The Lakes played before. I have only played around here one time. It is a totally different looking golf course. Playability-wise, it looks like it would play a little easier for the pros and harder for the members. It looks like it is a little wider. It is not as intimidating off the tee. The severity of the greens is going to be exaggerated by the speed, if they get them really quick, they are going to be very difficult to putt on.

They are saying 10.5.

Well that is not so bad. But if it gets windy, 10.5 can get 11 and a half very quickly.

Question about his form.

I have been practising. I went 11 months without hitting a golf ball because of the shoulder surgery. I have been practising as much as I feel like practising back in the States. I have no really big concerns about it. I am not playing the way I used to play but I don't have any worries about what I am doing out there...My right shoulder is now like a 25-year-old's shoulder. My left shoulder is 55. Maybe I should have had both done. It was a little more expensive than what we planned on doing but it feels fantastic now.

What is your memory of 1980 here?

Brian Jones is No. 1. And having to make three at the last to win. I believe I had a one-shot lead. I hit it over the green and got up and down on 17. It always comes down to a putt somewhere along the line. When I made that I felt pretty good.

Question about drama in the Australian Open.

There is always some drama in it. I think having a par three finishing hole is great. I really like it. It is good for the spectators because they get to see every shot. As long as the hole is a good hole, I've always liked the idea that you get to the 18th and know that you have to make three to win, or two to win... I really like the way it sets up for a par three finish.

Have you designed a par three course?

Yes, I have but it is not for tournament play.

Inaudible question.

Not with the weather conditions. It is going to be very soft. You'll be able to get at the greens. I don't know what the weather forecast is and if it is going to be windy. But if conditions stay soft, we will be able to play very aggressively.

What part of your game is not as good as it used to be?

Probably concentration. Just keeping the mind in the game the whole day. Then it is probably the short game. I was a very dedicated short game practiser and I had a very good short game because I spent a lot of time on it. I don't spend time on it now and pay the price. I do go down in the back garden and chip and putt when I need to but it is not as surgical as it used to be. I used to feel that wherever I hit it, I could get it up and down nine times out of 10. Flexibility is another thing. You are not as flexible the older you get although I feel I am still fairly flexible.

What is your assessment of Adam Scott's career?

Any great player will never say his career is where he would like it to be. We strive for very high goals in our lives. I think he would be looking to the fact that he has not performed well in the major championships. That is a negative in his career to date. I know he is good enough to win a major championship. He should be contending, putting himself in position to contend on a Sunday. That might be something that weighs on his mind. To see the way he played in the Presidents Cup in 2009, you see the glint in his eye and the determination to get back to where he knows he can play. Two victories this year is a great barometer for him. He can take it forward into 2011 or even this week at the Australian Open where he is defending champion. I am sure he is playing with a lot more confidence now than he was 12 or 14 months ago.

Question about status of Australian golf.

I think we are in a very good position. Jason Day is stepping up to the plate. He is playing some very, very good golf. Just focusing on the Presidents Cup, I thought the energy and excitement that I sensed yesterday at Royal Melbourne was fantastic. I know that bringing someone like Tiger Woods down to play in the Australian Masters is great for that one event but we have to think of more than one event. We have to think how we develop the game of golf from the grass roots level to keep producing the Adam Scotts and the Jason Days of the world. The enthusiasm comes from across the board. As we lead up to the Presidents Cup I think you'll see a lot of kids being more enthusiastic about it. When you think back to 1998 when we won here, the kids playing now were probably not even born. Now it (Presidents Cup) will be stimulating that development.

I'm also seeing corporations getting enthusiastic about golf again. We've had a bit of a dry spell. I would like to see prize money increased across the board with the PGA Tour. We have stayed stagnant on that. I think the pendulum has bottomed out. Maybe over the next three to five years we'll start seeing the momentum again, getting Australia back to when the popularity of our tournaments was very high among the great players. They really do put the bums on the seats, no question about it. You need those individuals coming back and playing. The question I was asked yesterday was what was going to happen the week before the Presidents Cup? That is up to the powers that be and it is going to be an interesting decision. You can't make that decision for just one week. You have to make it for the long term. I am seeing a lot of positive signs about where the game of golf is going in Australia.

Question about the importance of free to air television coverage.

Success breeds success. Success breeds enthusiasm. You need that. I turn on TV to watch a certain sport because I like it. I don't turn on the TV and watch if the guys are playing terrible. You need somebody to be stepping up to the plate. I don't know the rules that you talked about but I think the more we get players like a Tiger Woods coming down, the better off we will be and the more exposure through television that we'll get. It is important. It is a great medium. Whether you like it or not, television is there. The media are there and we can use them the best we possibly can to grow and develop the game of golf. Getting someone up there on a regular basis, week in and week out, who has the charisma and the ability to deliver a message, whatever that message is, for the betterment of the game, is a great necessity.

At the height of your career you arrived at a tournament and expected to win. Do you still have that winning mindset?

No. My expectations are very low right now, to be honest with you. I have been very consistent. I love to compete but I hate to practise. I really don't like standing out there for 10 hours a day hitting golf balls any more. My practice routine now is maybe 45 minutes to an hour hitting golf balls and then go play 18 holes. I never used to do it that way. I never used to play 18 holes when I practised. I just hit golf balls. Now the process of honing my skills is different. When I get out there and play, I like to push myself like I used to push myself. I have to balance my own expectations within myself. Now I'm not worried if I don't shoot 63. If I shoot 72 or 74, I am not that worried about it. Everything is different.

Question about running third at British Open.

Freddie Couples and I talked about this yesterday in a private session. I could if I wanted to (play in the majors again) - if I wanted to go back there and commit myself to practising four or five days a week. Do I think I can compete and win again? Absolutely I do. But like I said, I am not that keen on doing that. You have to understand that I enjoy doing a lot of other things. In all reality, by competitive juices are funnelled in different directions. I really enjoy what I am doing, promoting the game of golf in China and Vietnam and Korea and Argentina or getting hold of the Olympics. All those things that are tied to the game of golf are deep in my heart. It is not just me competing for myself, it is for the game of golf. I get a great sense of satisfaction out of doing that now. I did not four or five years ago because my priorities were different.

So you won't take the odds of 50/1 this week?

It is your money. You can do whatever you want with it.

Question about the One Asia tour.

Let's just talk about Asian golf in general. I am a strong believer that the East will take over the West in 20 years. Maybe a generation from now, which is about 20 years. The development of the game in places like Vietnam and China, Cambodia, Korea, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia is just incredible. One Asia is obviously capitalising on that. The development of the game there is going to be higher than anywhere else. When China gets into gear - there is still a moratorium on golf course construction in China - but when they figure out a way to get to the 30 million golfers in China that the government anticipates, you know what is going to happen. They are going to develop and generate some phenomenal players, male and female. The West is lagging now. The game is slow in the United States. It is not developing the way it did in the 1980s and 90s.

So you go to One Asia or you go to an Asian Tour or whatever. Corporations are going to Asia now because they are sick of getting zero per cent interest, zero per cent return on their money. They are investing in the Third World countries where they are getting good returns on their money and the growth and development are showing it. Now, if you are a corporation, you look at sports that are developing. Golf is a fast developing sport. Now they want to start from the grass roots level. You can see how it all plays out. It is not going to happen overnight. It is going to happen over a period of time. You can go India and the Middle East. Oman is red hot right now with golf courses. If One Asia wants to capitalise on it and do the right things for the game of golf, it is great. The game and the players will be the benefactors. I see a big future for it.

Question about wife and what he planned to show her in Australia.

She grew up here. She has spent a lot of time here. I don't have to show her much about Australia. This is her country. She is visiting her family and friends and catching up with everybody. My private life seems to be of interest to a lot of people. I don't know why. It is very good. There is no better feeling that that you are in a good place. Every time you say you are in a great place, what does not mean? It means you are in a better place than you were before. You have to stay focused on it. What I like to do is enjoy myself at the golf course and away from business more now that I have ever done in my life. I like being home now more than I ever had. Like we talked before, your priorities change, your expectations change. They change for a reason. They change because of your partner. I am in a good place but I wish this whole thing about my private life would quieten down a bit.

Does she play golf?

No, she does not play golf. Right now we enjoy a lot of other things. We play a lot of tennis and do a lot of things together.

Question about winning the title again the The Lakes.

How many in the field, 154? 156. Well, there are 155 other guys who can get me. With the course soft, anybody can win. I don't think Adam is worried about repeating. I think he is worried about putting himself in the best position to have a chance to win on Sunday afternoon...If the wind stays down, this course is not overly long. The guys can get at it easily.

Do you have a preference for which tournament precedes the Presidents Cup next year?

Not really. I can look at it from different ways. As a player, I see it as the Presidents Cup captain. I can look at it from the Australian PGA Tour and I can look at it from the US Tour...I leave it to the powers that be. The decision should be long term, not just for that short term gain of the week before the Presidents Cup. If we all take that approach, whether you are IMG or the Australian Golf Union (now Golf Australia) or the Australian Seniors Open which is some time around this, you have to make sure that the long term goals are all met. They are making the decision, I think, on December 8 or 9. We'll see where it goes.

What are your memories of Aaron Baddeley who won here?

I have seen a little of Aaron. I don't follow golf. I don't watch a lot of golf. From January 1, leading up to the Presidents Cup, I will watch a lot of golf because I want to see how potential team members are playing. I know Aaron has not been up there as regularly as before. He is probably making some adjustments, either in his golf swing or maybe an adjustment in life. I don't know. I just know that he is a heck of a player, I like him as a person, he is really committed to the game of golf and anybody who has had that much success early on will always have success going through. It depends how he balances it out. I hope he does well.

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